The first one, came in September 2012 as I was sitting in my parent's home on a Saturday visit.

The other came as I was sitting in my office at The Paper’s worldwide headquarters high above Crawfordsville 19 days ago.

The first one, from my boss, Tim Timmons, said that he thought I had some talent and would be happy to interview me for a sports writing position.

The second, from my soon-to-be boss, said she thought I had some talent and would be happy to interview me to be her executive assistant.

For those keeping score, I'm 2-for-2 on the aforementioned interviews.

Unfortunately that means I must say goodbye to The Paper and to Montgomery County.

I'll be heading east, for the start of a new career in Washington D.C. I'll be the right-hand-man for a marketing executive for a national company. It's just an unbelievable shot for a high ceiling that I can't pass up.

What a beautiful spring it has been! A few spots of rain and crummy weather, but for the most part we’ve been able to avoid cancelations and spring sports have been running well.

A surprise to me has been just how good the Crawfordsville baseball team has been. Everyone knew they were going to be good. But I didn’t know they had this much!

They’re sitting at 12-0 after beating Western Boone on Tuesday 10-0. The undefeated Athenians are also ranked as No. 1 in Class 3A. Not bad for the boys in blue and gold.

North Montgomery and Southmont have also been playing some solid baseball early on. The Chargers swept the intra-county series, but the second game was highly competitive.

Another pleasant thing to see this spring has been the quality of the track and field action. There are certain things that certain schools always seem to be strong in, but all three schools seem especially deep this year in almost all of the events.

I am a proud resident of downtown Crawfordsville. Today, I am a disappointed resident of downtown Crawfordsville.

On Monday I received and edited a press release from the City of Crawfordsville regarding snow cleanup on: Main Street, from Water Street to Walnut Street; Washington Street, from Market Street to Wabash Avenue; and Green Street, from Market Street to Main Street.

It was a day late and a dollar too much. According to the release, the city was paying a private contractor to help remove snow off of sidewalks downtown.

Dr. M. Keith Baird passed away on Saturday. The list of Dr. Baird's involvements and accomplishments is impressive and lengthy. But to me, he was a neighbor - and the best kind of neighbor you could ask for.

For my final two years at Wabash College I lived at 13 Harry Freedman Place. Dr. Baird lived right next door. He always had a smile, a laugh and a story to tell.

The first time I met Dr. Baird in person was actually in the classroom in 2009. Yes, this man, who had earned a degree in 1956, frequently sat in on classes 50 years later just to keep learning. He would show up to several classes I was in, and we would occasionally chat. And then one day we realized we were heading to pretty much the same place on campus. And realized we were neighbors.

This week is time to give thanks. And it's an opportunity to give back to those that go without. Whether it's at a church or some other organization, there will be opportunities all week long to lend a hand and make sure that others have a special holiday season.

Veterans Day is one of the lasting icons of our national pride. As a nation we take a day to put aside our differences and remember the men and women that fought so that we can have those differences. It is a great day.

I have the honor of knowing a handful of active duty Marines. Some I graduated college with, some I've developed friendships with and some I've only talked to from a distance through others. I try to thank these individuals throughout the year for their service. But on Monday we stop as a nation to take our time to thank them.